Tidewell Receives Grant to Facilitate COVID-19 Partnership in Manatee County

Sept. 16, 2020–SARASOTA, Fla. — On behalf of a local collaborative of nonprofit providers and community groups, Tidewell Hospice has received a grant from Manatee County to facilitate a countywide initiative that will bring together community partners to protect the health and well-being of at-risk residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, known as the Multicultural Action Team (MAT). 

Tidewell will serve as administrator of the $342,000 grant, distributed through the Manatee County CARES Community and Wellness fund. The MAT is a collective impact project – a project in which multiple partners share common goals, execute common strategies and achieve collective results for a community goal.

The current pandemic of COVID-19 has underscored the already disparate treatment and care of vulnerable multicultural populations across the nation. The same is true in Manatee County.

Nationally, although African-Americans make up 13 percent of the population, they represent a third of deaths related to COVID-19. Numerous well-known social determinants of health drive the multicultural disparities that exist in healthcare and socioeconomic outcomes for the ethnic and cultural minority communities in the United States, particularly within Hispanic/Latinx and African-American communities which comprise 14.9 percent and 8.7 percent of the Manatee County population, respectively.

“Tidewell Hospice is pleased to be a key partner with MHI and others to address the disparities of COVID 19 among minority populations,” Tidewell President and CEO Jonathan Fleece said. “Through our newly formed Tidewell Foundation, we plan to actively engage even more in the future in health issues impacting our community. Now more than ever is a time to reinforce our commitment to equality, service and love for humanity, with a special focus on helping at-risk people during this pandemic.”

Tidewell’s lead partner in this effort is the Multicultural Health Institute (MHI) under the leadership of Lisa Merritt, MD. MHI mobilized early in March 2020 to respond to the pandemic’s impact on diverse populations at higher risk. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 5,000 people have received direct assistance from these efforts. Dr. Merritt and MHI are nationally recognized for their leadership in addressing health disparities.

There is a need to expand these efforts using a cooperative approach to reduce the spread of COVID-19, particularly among disproportionately impacted communities in Manatee County where nearly half the caseload is among people of color. 

“It has been our honor and privilege to care for and educate the community on health equity issues while also developing future healthcare leadership,” Multicultural Health Institute Director and Founder Dr. Lisa Merritt said. “We are excited at the opportunity to solidify long standing collaborations into the Multicultural Action Team which will continue to improve awareness of health and wellness issues while preventing spread and complications from COVID-19 amongst vulnerable populations.”

Other community partners include UnidosNow, Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce, Healthy Teens Coalition of Manatee County, Inc., New College of Florida, The Links Inc. Bradenton/Sarasota Chapter and Resilient American Communities an initiative of Health Initiatives Foundation Inc.

This consortium of trusted and socially aware partners will work together to provide the following pillars of focus (PEARLS) to the residents of Manatee County with the specific aim of mitigating the spread of COVID-19:

• Prevention
• Education
• Advocacy
• Research
• Linkage to Care
• Sustainable Solutions

The initiatives are generally focused upon distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE); education of best practices in multiple and culturally appropriate languages through a variety of media; community-based assessments of conditions and needs; testing and connecting individuals to appropriate resources; and tracking results and developing community-oriented solutions to problems in the healthcare system and social institutions.

In response to the challenges presented to our communities by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tidewell Hospice and the newly created Tidewell Foundation have committed experience, insight and initiative to facilitating stronger ties among our region’s health and social service providers, while helping people navigate the range of care options those partnerships would create and sustain.